Spellbound
by faedemonn
Summary: What would happen if Freakshow succeeded in capturing Danny? asks ghostportals on tumblr. Danny is carted off with the circus, performing against his will until they arrive in Gravity Falls, where a certain boy is skeptical of the circus' purpose. However, he will find that mind control and robbery are not the only mysteries waiting to be solved...
1. Prologue

Prologue

Ever hear the phrase, "Die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain"? It can be quite ironic at times—especially when it starts to apply to you. Danny Phantom was, in a sense, a hero. He had appointed himself the "

Superman of Amity Park, an unwavering loyalty binding him to serve the town. That is, until his will was broken by a controlling freak of a man, ringmaster of Circus Gothica. Danny didn't even really get to see himself become a villain through his own eyes. He watched from behind the scenes as another person pulled the strings like he was a marionette.

Danny Phantom watched, struggling to regain some sense of control, but he was too traumatized to make any impact. He was traumatized by what he had witnessed, what he had done. It was horrifying; it was cruel.

He remembered Sam and Tucker sneaking into a car of the Circus Gothica train. They had discovered Freakshow's treasure horde. He was there too, watching as they picked their way around mounds of gold and jewelry. He'd observed them for minutes as they slowly plodded toward the doorway to the next car, looking for him. Freakshow, however, decided they'd seen enough. He commanded Danny to attack, and his body had obliged despite his mind's valiant protests.

His ectoblasts had thrown his friends out of the train, and onto the tracks below. The train roared to life as another of Freakshow's ghostly minions commandeered it, and it raced toward the stunned teenagers. Danny's mind was screaming at his body: for it to move, to save them. He couldn't focus enough to control himself, though. In his panic, he didn't register that they had scrambled off the tracks in the nick of time. Freakshow didn't seem to notice either, absorbed in his confidence. He lead an internally distressed Dany back to the circus tent, then empyting of parents, to gloat to his mindless minions.

Danny hadn't fought Freakshow's control for weeks after that, too devastated with the idea that his friends were dead because of his foolishness, his weakness. He was left with a shattered heart, guilt clawing at him from the inside out, clouding his thoughts and mind until nothing remained except remorse. He didn't watch as Freakshow lead the circus out of Amity Park. He didn't watch as weeks and months went by, and he performed countless times for people he would never know. He didn't watch as the train moved farther and farther from his home, his friends, his family. He didn't see the TVs blaring amber alerts, and he didn't see Freakshow take his cell phone and destroy it after the fifth call. All he knew was regret, and loathing: for Freakshow, his stupid staff, and himself.

It must have been at least a year before he came out of his haze, in which he had been watching numbly as he stole and performed and committed crime, not really seeing, trapped within his emotions. He might have stayed as he was, a mindless puppet, forever if the train had not stopped in one particular, peculiar town. Danny didn't know what it was called. He didn't need to know. After all, he was just a minion. But what he did know was that the moment they crossed the border into the town, he felt the entire world shift. The air here was laced with something found nowhere else, it was less restricted. This place felt like the Ghost Zone to Danny. It was freeing. The moment the train entered the town, about the size of Amity Park, Danny was conscious. He could sense and he could feel. He couldn't control his body still, but he could recognize the world around him instead of stumbling along with his body, numb.

It was like a breath of fresh air. Stepping into Gravity Falls, a place Danny Fenton had never known, was like entering a whole new world. The only way he could describe it was that there was magic in the air. There was mystery behind every rock, and it was so different from the normalcy of the rest of the world. Danny felt revitalized. He felt as though he could break free, if only he tried hard enough.

Unfortunately, although this little town had given him back his consciousness, it couldn't give him back his resolve. He believed that his best friends, the two people he cared for most in the entire world, were dead, and because of him. Nothing could have shattered him farther. There was no way he was going to free himself fully, give him back his own choices. At this point, he enjoyed having them made for him. He didn't have to choose what was right anymore. He didn't have to choose anything at all.

It wasn't until a young boy attended his show did he think about freeing himself again. Something about him was off. He was different than the unnatural normalcy of the other residents of the small town; he knew there was something different about this place. Danny didn't know how he could tell. Perhaps it was the suspicion on the face of the boy as he analyzed the circus tent walking in. Perhaps it was the book he carried, unusual and untitled, with a gold-and-red cover. What he did know, however, was the kid's curiosity and appreciation for the world around him made Danny want to know him and learn about him. It made him want to become Dipper Pines' friend. Not a replacement for Sam and Tucker, whom he believed dead, but to attempt to fill the gaping hole his loss had left him with.

So, for the first time in over a year, Danny Phantom fought again for his freedom.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter One

It might've been nothing, but the moment Circus Gothica rolled into town one foggy evening, Dipper had felt like something was very wrong.

The train held a sense of mystique and darkness, mostly due to the purple-and-black color scheme and its gothic nature. The circus itself was loud and exciting in a fairly disturbing way, and the performers even more so. But all of this dulled in comparison to the utter wrongness Dipper felt when he was around it. He couldn't tell what wasn't right, but he knew something was off, and he was determined to find out what.

The second day the circus was here, one of the performers walked around town, handing out flyers silently. They were the only one who was quiet, and Dipper found it all the more eerie. They were shrouded in a red cloak that left their face in impenetrable shadow—and when they handed Dipper a flyer, he could have sworn that their hand was green.

Something was definitely strange about Circus Gothica.

—

"I'm telling you, Mabel, you shouldn't go! There's something off about this circus, I can tell!" Dipper exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air for effect.

"Dipdop, you're overreacting! I'll be fine. Plus, I heard one of the performers is a really cute boy!" he squealed and fake-swooned, stars dancing in her eyes. Dipper rolled his and put a hand to his forehead. Even at fourteen two years later, Mabel hadn't grown any more mature.

"Fine, if I can't talk you out of it, I'm going with you." he grumbled, and a chill ran down his spine. He was very much dreading seeing the show. However, the feeling was replaced by surprise as Mabel suddenly enveloped him in a tight bear hug that felt more like she was trying to kill him by suffocation. "Mabel-! Can't… breathe!" he gasped, and she released him.

"Oops! Sorry bro," she said, not sounding very sorry at all. She shot him a shit-eating grin and he glared back before a sudden look of surprise overtook Mabel's face. "I've gotta go find an outfit to wear when we see it!"

"Mabel, the show's not until tomorrow!" he yelled after her, but she was already halfway up the stairs, heading towards their room in the attic. Dipper rolled his eyes before turning to head out the door. Before they saw the performance, he wanted to scope out the circus and see if there was any immediate danger.

Dipper jumped down the porch steps and began down the dirt-and-gravel road that lead from their little outpost into the main town. The ground crunched satisfyingly beneath his feet and he admired the scenery fleetingly, having seen it hundreds of times before. As he walked into town a few people greeted him as they went about, and he happily waved back. The people here were much friendlier than back home… there, everyone just mocked his bookishness and belief in the paranormal.

He frowned, then shook his head to clear thoughts of his hometown from his mind. He was in Gravity Falls for now, and he would make the most of it.

When he reached the plot of land Circus Gothica had chosen to set up in, Dipper found it was on the outskirts of town almost directly opposite the shack. The ominous train lay dormant in the rarely used station, and the tent was slowly being erected. A tall man with an obnoxiously large nose oversaw the preparations, sneering and yelling orders while waving around a large, hypnotic staff.

Dipper found himself staring into the red smoke inside the orb at the staff's tip for a moment, but he shook his head and turned his gaze elsewhere. Two people, a man (who was definitely green—Dipper prayed it was just body paint) and the cloaked performer, were actually putting up the tent. A third, dwarf-like man who also had green skin was carrying four heavy-looking crates at a time to be stacked just outside the entrance to the circus tent among others. And finally, sitting casually in a box car, was a teenage boy with snow-white hair. Dipper could swear his eyes were red, too, but perhaps it was just a trick of the light. The boy caught his gaze and sent him a cruel smirk, and Dipper turned away, intimidated.

He approached the beak-nosed man that seemed to be in charge.

"Hello?" he greeted cautiously, his statement sounding much more like a question. Dipper fought the urge to cringe.

The man turned and regarded him for a moment, his eyes flashing with irritation that Dipper didn't miss, before he seemed to put on a mask of enthusiasm and graciousness.

"Why, hello my dear boy! Who might you be?" he inquired, leaning down a little too close for Dipper's liking. He shied away from the man's foul breath.

"Dipper. Dipper Pines," he said guardedly and narrowed his eyes. The man was not deterred.

"My name is Freakshow, and I am the ringmaster of _Circus Gothica_!" he said, sweeping his arm out to gesture towards the tent and the performers dramatically. Dipper may have been slightly impressed, but he would never admit it.

"Circus Gothica: Where the clowns never smile, and your nightmares come alive! Come get your freak on, with real freaks! Cross over to the dark side," Freakshow said in an eerie, rehearsed tone. Dipper couldn't suppress a shiver. The slogan only served to make him more suspicious—there must be something paranormal about this!

"Nice to, uh, know…" he stammered, stepping back and scratching the back of his head-a nervous habit. This man, Freakshow, gave Dipper a very bad feeling. It almost felt as if danger itself was emanating from this man. "I, um, I'll be sure to come!" He offered a nervous smile before scampering away, overcome with a sudden wave of anxiety.

Dipper mulled it over in his head as he walked through town: why he had been so intimidated. Obviously there was something going on with the circus that he couldn't see—that much was clear. But talking to some adult shouldn't have freaked him out so much, even if he was scared easily. He dismissed it, if somewhat uneasily, and returned to contemplating just what paranormality was attached to the circus. Perhaps it was magical creatures. Hadn't the performers been green, and unusually strong or tall or small? Or maybe they were demons—Dipper shivered at the thought, remembering the boy's eyes. Maybe it wasn't a trick of the light.

Dipper happened to be thinking so deeply that, had it not been for a kind passerby, he would have walked straight into a street sign. Good going, Pines. Real suave.

—

The next day, the police were at their door.

Sheriff Blubbs and Deputy Durland weren't exactly uncommon visitors, due to their great uncle's shoplifting habit (Dipper honestly had no idea how he weaseled his way out of any charges every time). However, it was nerve-wracking whenever they did show up as it meant bad news and possibly leaving Gravity Falls due to an arrested temporary guardian.

Dipper and Mabel peeked out from behind the living room's threshold as Stanley opened the door to greet the officers.

"Why hello there Sheriff, Deputy," Stan said, leaning casually against the doorframe and shooting them an innocent smirk.

"Hi, Mr. Pines!" Durland greeted in his usual friendly manner, but Sheriff Blubbs wore a disapproving frown.

"Stanley Pines, we'd like you to come into the station for questioning. Some valuables from Mary's jewelry shop were stolen." Dipper caught confusion flicker across Stan's face—he had expected they'd come about Old Jones' missing chickens (Stanley had "needed" them for his most recent exhibit), but he hadn't known anything about any jewels. Judging from his grunkle's expression, neither had he.

"Officer, I swear I know nothing about this." Stan's voice was unusually serious, and any of his normal playfulness was gone. Officer Blubbs looked appropriately surprised.

"I'm inclined to believe you, Stan, but protocol needs you to come in." Blubbs gestured to the car parked in the drive while Durland nodded vigorously. Stan relented, stepping out the door. Dipper looked after him in concern, taking a step out of the living room, but he knew Stan wouldn't face any charges. After all, he didn't actually do anything this time. Mabel walked up to the open front door, looking as though she were about to run after him. Dipper followed her to the door and he placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her.

"Don't worry Mabel, he'll be fine! Grunkle Stan gets out of everything," he gave her a reassuring smile and she returned it after a moment.

"Yeah! You're right," she agreed, her mood changing almost instantaneously. "Besides, the circus is starting soon, I have to get ready!" Dipper's eyebrows knitted in confusion as she dashed inside, and he heard her feet pound up the stairs. The performance didn't start for three hours at least—what could possibly take that much time?

He shook his head, bemused, before he opted to laze about in the living room until the show. He turned on the TV, flipping through channels absentmindedly before settling on a rerun of a Ducktective episode. He stayed in front of the television for about an hour and a half before it began to malfunction.

It was just a little white noise at first, but within a minute the image was just static and the white noise had completely replaced the show's audio. Dipper frowned in confusion and adjusted the antennas, but it didn't remedy the situation. He walked over to the room's window, sticking his head out to look up and see if anything above them was blocking the signal, but he was deterred from his objective when movement caught his eye.

It was the ringmaster, Freakshow. He was sidling along the treeline cautiously, looking around for something. Sometimes he dipped into the trees, and Dipper noticed that as he did, the static coming from the TV fluctuated with his movements. The staff in Freakshow's grip was glowing slightly, and suddenly it clicked in Dipper's mind: the staff had a strange power that was somehow affecting the radio waves in the air. He narrowed his eyes in suspicion, and without a second thought pushed the rest of his lanky form through the window.

Dipper landed rather ungracefully and stumbled a bit before he straightened. In the past two years, he'd grown to a staggering 5'6" while Mabel followed at 5'4"; it was a significant change from their past matching heights of 4'11".

He saw Freakshow finally stop at a certain tree, which he remembered to have a letter F carved into it. He'd puzzled over it when he'd first found it two years ago, but had dismissed it as just an initial of a kid. Now he realized it must stand for Freakshow—or whatever the man's real name might be. Then the man turned and delved into the trees, and Dipper was quick to follow.

He knew these woods like the back of his hand, having traversed it every other day for three summers and even mapped parts of it, so he knew how to walk through it relatively silently. Freakshow, on the other hand, trampled through the undergrowth. Dipper smirked—the man would never know he was being followed.

No sooner than he had thought it, Freakshow stopped dead. Dipper immediately dove for cover behind a tree that, conveniently, was surrounded by large bushes. Through the branches, Dipper saw Freakshow's eyes lock on his hiding place. He swallowed nervously and watched the man intently. It felt as if they stared each other down for hours, but it was really a few mere seconds before a shadow flitted behind the ringmaster. Danny's attention was diverted, and in the blink of an eye, Freakshow vanished. Dipper heard the rustling of branches, but it was hard to tell whether or not they were footsteps as they were not as obvious as before. He sighed and stood, brushing off a few dead leaves. There was no point in moving forward, as his unwitting guide had disappeared and the ground was too solid at this time of year to allow for any footprints. Plus, Dipper just wasn't experienced enough in tracking to follow him.

He made his way back to the shack dejectedly, kicking stones as he walked along. The fact that Freakshow got away frustrated him—he was sure the man had been heading into the woods for a significant reason. Now, he guessed, he would never know unless he could catch Freakshow going out again, and that was rather unlikely. The man was sure to be more careful next time, if there even would be a next time.

The shack came into view after about half an hour, which surprised Dipper. He hadn't thought that he'd been out that long.

He entered through the gift shop, which was closest to the place he'd come out of the woods. He saw the window he'd left through still open, and made a mental note to close it once he got inside; the last time he'd left a window open overnight, a few of raccoons had gotten in and trashed the kitchen. At least, that's what Grunkle Stan said. Dipper suspected it was gnomes.

When he left the gift shop for the main house, he was surprised to find Mabel rummaging through the closet at the foot of the stairs. She was decked out in a dark purple sweater with a cute ghost on it, a black miniskirt, and galaxy leggings with black converse. Dipper was stuck staring for a moment, mouth gaping. His sister had probably not worn that much dark color in her entire life until now. She straightened up and saw him, brushing her hair behind her ear.

"Heya, bro-bro!" She greeted him in her usual cheerful manner, and now that Dipper could see her face, he noticed that she'd also expertly applied some dark eyeliner and mauve lipstick. "Do I look good or what?" She twirled on the spot, her skirt flaring out a bit. Dipper blinked before smiling, a bit confused.

"Uh, yeah. I think bright colors suit you better, though," Dipper said carefully. Lately his sister had been a bit touchy about her appearance. Mabel shrugged, before returning her attention to the closet.

"Have you seen my black purse? The one I dumped here last year?" she asked, her voice muffled as she stuck her head in between the coats hanging inside. Dipper stifled a chuckle.

"I thought you threw it under Grunkle Stan's armchair," he replied, recalling that day. Mabel had gotten it on impulse at one of the shops in town, thinking it was purple in the store's lighting. When they returned to the shack, she'd found it was actually rather gothic black purse with skull designs on the zippers. Out of disgust, she'd tossed it under the chair and hadn't mentioned it since.

Mabel let out a small "Oh!" of recollection and darted out of the closet and around Dipper to the living room. He kicked back in a few items she'd taken out and closed the closet door, following her in. She was stretching her arm out under the chair, obviously struggling to reach what must have been her purse. Dipper rolled his eyes and walked over, laying down himself and sticking his arm under as well. Being taller than his sister also meant he had longer arms, and he easily reached the bag. It was dusty and a few spiders clung to it as he dragged it out, but he was sure Mabel would be able to spruce it up. She might even keep the spiders as pets.

"Thanks, Dipdop!" she chimed, booping his nose as they both stood, and rushed out of the room just as she had a few hours ago.

Dipper glanced at the clock that sat beside the TV. It was 3:30, and the performance started at four. Dipper guessed he wouldn't have enough time to finish another episode of Ducktective, so he retrieved a book from their room to read. It was one he'd gotten his first summer here, a mystery/adventure novel he'd particularly enjoyed

At ten to four, Mabel bounced downstairs to drag him to the circus, but was surprised to find him already at the door, nose buried in his book. She rolled her eyes and pushed gently past him to open the door and hop out onto the porch. Dipper followed slowly, reading one last paragraph before he put his bookmark in and left the novel on the table just inside the entrance. He then followed his sister outside, shutting the door behind him. As his thoughts shifted from well-written novels to shady circuses, a heavy dread settled in his stomach, and his legs felt like lead. Regardless, he followed Mabel as she skipped across town, ignoring the occasional shocked gaze due to her appearance.

It was only as they approached the mouth of the circus tent that Dipper remembered he hadn't shut the living room window.


End file.
